Improvement in fire-arms



` J. H MERRILL.

Breech`Loading Fire-Arm.

Patented Jan 8, H356 full, clear, and exact description, reference which- 4the principal object which I have in view is sists of ai barrel, A,-a stock, B, ramrod C, and

The breech B ofthe barrel is of the faucet vaintroduction of the charge; and for the pur- UNiTaD STATES ATENT Erica.,

JAMES H. MERRILL, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLXXI.

IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE-ARMS.

To all whom, t #my concern:

Be it known that I, .I inns'H. MERRILL, of the city of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Arms, of which the following is a being had to the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification, and in Figurel represents a side elevation of a rifle embracing my improvements; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section through the center of the breech, including the adjacent parts of the barrel and stock; Fig. 3, a .fiew in perspective of the lever and breech-pin detached; Fig. 4.-, a similar view of the breech-pin in a different position; Fig. 5, a similar view of. a plate having anzoblong opening,into which the button of the breech-pin locks; lFig. G, a section of the plate at the-linea' x of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 the periphery of the breechpin developed upon a plain surface.

My improvement relates tothe breech; and

to produce a breech-loading fire-arm which shallvcombine facility in loading, efficiency in the discharge, safety in using, ease in cleaning, and simplicity in construction.

The riile in the accompanying drawings conlock D, with the usual guards and hair-trigger.

riety, and the plug or breech-pin F is turned to open or close the breech by means of a lever, G, which shuts down upon the grasp of the stock to close the breech and turns up to an erect posi-tion to open it. I prefer, for convenience in constructing this nre-arm, to have the breech separate from the barrel and screw the two together when finished; but the breech and barrel may be made with a little more labor in one piece. In the drawings T have represented a breech, E, made separa. from the barrel A and screwed into the same, and the bore extended through both in the same line. rlhe bore atthe rear end of thefbreech isslightly expanded at the sides and top to facilitate the pose of still further facilitating its entrance the stock is cut away behind the breech to admit a metallic trough, H, to guide the charge into the entrance of the breech. The breech is pierced with a transverse opening to receive a breech-pin, F. The axis of this opening is at right angles to and intersects that ofthe bore of the barrel, and it is about double the diameter of the bore. This transverse hole may be made cylindrical, or, if preferred, slightly tapering, to facilitate the withdrawal of the breech-pin, which must be made of corresponding form; but its taper must not be great, or else the unequal pressure toward the opposite ends of the pin consequent upon their unequal diameter will greatly endanger its being blown out, and in any event will produce great and 'injurious lateral strain uponthe piece. Into this transverse hole in the' breech the pin is accurately fitted. rlhis pin has a projection on each end, one, l, in the form of an oblong button, which enters a slot, l, in a piece dovetailed into the locl -plate, and then, by being turned across the same,holds the pin securely in the breech. The slot and button are protected from injury and concealedv by a sliding cover, J. -The projection K on the opposite end of' the pin has the lever G fastened to it, by which the pin is turned. The bore of the breech ,whichrecei ves the charge, is larger than that ofthe barrel, and this enlarged bore is continued through the breechpin, so that when the lever G is raised at right angles, or thereabout, to the barrel, as seen in red lines in Fig-2, .the'bore will be continuous through the barrel, breech., and pin. \Vhen the lever is turned down upQ'ii thc'grasp, as seen in Fig. l, the breech will: be'closed and the solid side of the pin will become fthe bottoni of the chamber.

- rlhat part of the side of the pin which forms the bottoni of the chamber has a cylindrical cavity, L, formed in it, or, preferably, the cavitylshonld be of a parabolic forni, in order that the force. of the explosion may be concentrated against the center of the ball, and this cavity or indentation has the further effeet of preventing to some extent the escape of smoke through the joint round the pin. To prevent the smoke, gunpowder dust, 85e., which, from the greatviolence of the explosion, are in a greater or less degree forced into the `joint round the pin, the cavity L, which forms the base of the chamber, is sur- `rounded at a short distance from its edge by i) Jesu?? the grooves are sharp, to scrape the soot, &c.,

oli the concal surface of the holel in which the pin turns'. As the pins become heated :u the ,joints dry the friction rapidly increases. To crniuteract this to a considerable entre; i, I have discovered that it is only necessary To keep the piu lubricated with suet or other hard fat, and for this purpose I have formel". deep channels c on the side of the pin opposite that which forms the bottom of the chamber, and these grooves I fill with hard tallow. which does not melt while the plug is cool, and does not need a lubricant, but will melt when the heat becomes so great that if the lubi icant were not present the joint would be filled with dust and the plug or pin turn with difficulty For the purpose of preventing the acciiuV .tal dropping out of the pin while the button is turning over the slot, a bolt, BI, enters a groove, my, at the'end of the pin on which the lever G is fixed. When it is desired to withdraw the pin from the breech to wipe it, which is often necessary, or to replenish the tallow, this bolt is pressed back with one hand and the pin withdrawn with the other.

`The curved trough II, which extends from the rear end of the breech to the shoulder N on the stock at the rear end of the grasp, not only facilitates the introduction of the charge, as before mentioned, but it also serves as a receptacle and guide for a rammer, C, which is secured in it, and can move forward a distance limited by a bridge, I), near the front of the trough, against which the thumb-piece of the rammer is thrust forward and then drawn back. This construction and arrangementl of the rammer insures the entrance of the ball to Ithe required distance int-o the chamber to give abundant space for the powder and allow it to pass into the chamber in front of the pin, thus preventing waste, and rendering the ignition and explosion of the powder more thorough and complete, thus making the discharge as forcible and efficient as possible.

The rear end of the rammer may extend back into ahole bored into the stock and be "connectedwith a helical spring to retract it, A which 'would dispense with the necessity of drawing it back by hand, and leave the latter at libertyto shut down the lever G to close the breech by the same motion that would draw the rammer back. By this means the rapidity of firing will be increased. The.

lever G is abroad plate having'a concave end, into which a spring, S, fastened to the shoulder E, enters, to hold it in place when shut down to cover the rammer and trough in which it is arranged, so as vofectively lto exclude rain from the entrance to the breech` The piece,

when loaded or before loading, looks like a4 common fire-arm, c'x'ccptthat a broad plate covers the upper part of the grasp and the .A `breech externally is wider than usual. To

load the piece, thelover is thrown up, which uncovers the channel H in the grasp and brings the axis of the hole in the stopper and the axis of the bore into the sameline. Supposing the piece to be a rifie, a ball is dropped into the breech, and, passing through the chamber, lodges against the shoulder formed by the meeting of the-bores of the chamber and barrel. The charge of powder is then poured in and the lever shut down, the hole in the stopper cutting off any excess of powder, or, if a cartridge is used, tl1e,end of the cartridge, anddropping the same through an opening left for the purpose under the breech and just in front of thel guard. Thus much for the facility of loading. As regards safety .in using, it will be seen' that the load is in the chamber ofthe piece, and that the movable stopper forms the bottom of. the chamber only, so that thereis no firing through a j oint, which is confessedly objectionable. Again, throwing up the lever and drawing out the stopper, the barrel becomes a simple tube, and the stopper may be wiped and the barrel cleaned with the greatest facility, the whole arrangement presenting the utmost simplicity of construction. y

The importance of the grooves a and 'ein the breech pin or plug F is such that without these aids my piececould not be discharged half a dozen ltimes without a manifest increase of friction, yet with them it may be discharged, as I have discharged it, a hundred times without any sensible dierence between the first disharge and the last iu the facility of throwing up the lever.

I would state I am aware that Alonzo D. Perry',` in his patent of December 11, 1849, claims, in .combination with a vibrating breech turning within a chamber,the making of a groove or grooves in the inner periphery of the chamber, and extending out at the side or sidesthereof, for the purpose and in the mauner substantially as herein described.77 This I do not claim; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1.` The construction of the breech-pin with a receptacle for tallow to lubricate the joint, as herein set forth.

2. The depression L in thev breech-pin oppositc vthe endl of the bore, as I have found it advantageous.

3. The combination of theV button on oneend of the breech-pin, and the slotted plate in connection with which the button works to secure the breechpin irmly in place while the breech is closed, in combination with a catch, M, or the equivalent thereof at the oppositeend of the breech-pin, to prevent the pin from dropping out while the breech is lopen and the button in a line .with the slot,

by which means the breech is securely closed,- while thecharge is exploded, and the pin at' the Sametime capable of being readily removed.

4. The arrangementofthe Yilner in the when shut down upon the stock,l will cover and protect the rammel' and charging-channel, substantially as herein set forth.

JAMES H. MERRILL.

rear of the breech in breech-pin, substantial] The constructie h-pin7 the lever for turnin the trough H to rece the rammer C in suc combination wit-h the y as herein set forth.

n and arrangement of the g the same, Ve the charge and guide h manner that the lever,

l NVitnesses:

WM. N .,BRICE, I. T. ATKINSON. 

